Harry Potter and the Power of Merlin
by cdavis9311
Summary: This is an A/U that still has some cannon to it. Based on Harry's fifth year, but may end up going longer. I know it's been done before, but this is just my twist on how things would go. Slight Dumbledore bashing! Rating just to be safe. Please R&R! Anything that you feel might make it better will be awesome! Temporarily on hold!
1. Chapter 1

***Disclaimer*** I do NOT own any of the characters, they belong to the wonderful J.K Rowling. I only own the story line!

This is an A/U of the fifth book that still has cannon to it. May go further then fifth year, depending on the reviews.

PLEASE R&R!

**Harry Potter and the Power of Merlin**

**A/U of OotP**

**Chapter 1: And So It Begins**

After the Dursley's picked Harry up from Kings Cross, Uncle Vernon had already started scolding him.

"Listen here, boy. I have grown tired of you not doing any work around the house when you come back from that freak school. You are to do all the landscaping this summer, as well as paint the house, and putting new shingles on the roof. Understood?"

"Yes, Uncle Vernon." came Harry's response. The rest of the ride home was completely silent.

That night, Harry fell asleep rather quickly, much to his surprise. To further his surprise, he wasn't dreaming of that night in the graveyard.

He stood alone in a beautiful meadow that was at the edge of a forest. As he took in his surroundings, he noticed a figure making its way out of the forest. He normally would have been on edge about something like this happening, but he, for some reason, didn't feel like this was something to fret about.

As the figure approached him, he realized that it was a man, a very old man at that. He appeared to be even more ancient then Albus Dumbledore. He wore midnight blue robes, with silver stars and trimming on them. The man radiated power, such that Harry had never before seen anything like it.

"Who are you?" Harry asked tentatively.

"I, young Harry, am someone that you know of, but have never met; someone that has long since been believed dead. Can you venture a guess as to who I am?"

The only word that came to Harry's mind was "…Merlin…"

"Quite right, quite right. Now, you must be wondering what I am doing here?"

"Yeah, and you also said that you were believed to be dead. Does that mean that you actually are not?" Harry inquired.

"But of course! Now, I would love to continue such small talk, but I believe it to be prudent to begin your training." Merlin stated.

"Wait, isn't this just a dream?" Harry questioned.

"Well, sort of. I have entered into your mind to begin teaching you how to harness all of your magic." He explained.

"Cool! But, what am I going to do? The Dursley's would flip if I don't do the yard work this year…" Harry began.

"Ah, but that's the beauty of teaching you while you are asleep. In reality, you have only been asleep for a few seconds. Each evening will be the equivalent of two years of training." Merlin informed, "and what you do hear will affect your physical appearance as well."

"Okay…" began Harry, completely confused.

"So first thing's first…" Merlin began.

At the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, the Weasley family was unpacking for the summer.

"But I don't understand mum, why can't we just stay at home?" Ron asked.

"I don't have the time right now, I need to get down to the meeting. We'll explain everything as best we can at dinner time." Mrs. Weasley began, heading down to the kitchen.

In the kitchen sat the other members of the Order around the large kitchen table. At the table's head, sat Professor Albus Dumbledore, to his right sat Severus Snape, and to his left sat Minerva McGonagall, his most trusted professors. The other members of the Order that were present consisted of Molly Weasley, her husband Arthur Weasley, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Nymphadora Tonks (who preferred to be referred to by her surname), Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, Elphias Doge, Bill Weasley and Kingsley Shacklebolt.

"Thank you all for accepting my invitation, now let us get down to business…" Dumbledore began.

In the drawing room that was in the Order's headquarter sat Fred and George, Ron, and Ginny.

"What do you think they're talking about in there?" asked Ron.

"Probably how best to combat You-Know-Who." Fred began, turning to George, "I think we should head up to our room and get started on those things…" he finished cryptically.

"Quite right, twin of mine, quite right." George announced. With that, the twins walked off.

"What do you think they're up to?" Ron asked again.

"I don't want to know," Ginny stated, "I want to know what they're discussing in that meeting down there though…"

"You and me both…" Ron sighed.

"I miss Harry." Ginny suddenly stated, causing Ron to go bug-eyed, and question her.

"I thought you were over him?" he inquired.

"I did too…" Ginny said a little sad, "but when I saw him after he finished the Third task, I don't know… It all sort of came flowing back with a vengeance." She finished with a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Hmm… I dunno Gin… this is getting to be kind of a weird conversation…" Ron trailed off.

"…Yeah… maybe if Hermione were here…" she started, causing Ron to blush. She noticed this, and decided to put this bit of information away for later.


	2. Chapter 2

***Disclaimer*** I do NOT own the characters! They belong to JK Rowling.

**Chapter 2: Animagi and Birthday Surprises**

It had been three weeks since Harry had arrived home, if you could call it that, from Kings Cross, and things were very different. Number 4 Privet Drive was a magnificent as ever, with the lawn and gardens looking perfect, and the house had a new layer of paint on it.

Harry was currently replacing the shingles on the roof. If one were to look at Harry now, and compare him to the Harry that came home from Kings Cross three weeks ago, they would think them to be two completely different people.

Harry now stood at 6 feet tall, and was extremely fit, having a very athletic build to him.

Working with his shirt off from the heat of the summer day, you could see his well defined stomach, chest and arms, while his legs also were well defined, just showing under the shorts he was wearing. Another large difference to his physical appearance was that he now longer wore any glasses, now leaving his sharp, emerald green eyes unobstructed, and shining like never before.

The Dursley's were perplexed at Harry's sudden quick change of stature, and were confused as to why he no longer needed glasses, but left him alone, except to make sure he got his work for the day completed.

That night, Harry and Merlin started working on something Harry was most excited to begin. Animagus training. They quickly brewed the potion that would allow them to see what form he would take, but Merlin warned him, "Now Harry, you are no ordinary wizard, I wouldn't be surprised if you had a few forms that you could change into."

Harry downed the potion in one. Suddenly, seven balls of light erupted from his chest, each slowly turning into a different animal. The first one that became defined was a brilliant stag, much like his patronus. The second and third ones caught him a little off guard, as they were a large, Grimm-like dog, and what appeared to be a large werewolf. Merlin let out a low whistle, showing he was impressed with the wolf.

"Harry do you have any idea what kind of wolf that is?"

"Um… a werewolf?" Harry answered, uncertainly.

"That's not just any werewolf, my boy, that's an Alpha werewolf. No one has seen anything like it since the first werewolf came into existence. If the person bitten is not a werewolf, they, obviously, become a werewolf. But what is special about the Alpha, is that if another werewolf is bitten while transformed, he or she becomes a wolf animagus, instead of being forced to change every full moon, and also has complete control of their mind." Merlin explained.

"Wow…" Harry muttered, looking at the wolf, and thinking of Remus.

The other four animals were astounding to see as well. First, there was a large Griffin, which was at least 8 feet tall, and 12 feet long. Its fur was a deep maroon-red, with black wings. Then there was a jet black Pegasus, followed by a Hungarian Horntail, which was also black. Lastly, and certainly not least, there was a golden Phoenix, all of which had Harry's emerald green eyes.

"That's interesting…" Merlin began, looking over each of the forms. "Each of them keep your scar in some form, with the exception of the Grimm." What he said was true. The stag and griffin had black lightning bolt shaped fur on their foreheads, while it was silver on the phoenix and horntail, and golden on the wolf and Pegasus.

By the end of the evening, which had been approximately 2 years of training, Harry was capable of turning into all 7 of his forms with a simple thought.

The days before his 15th birthday passed quickly, and before Harry knew it, he was waiting up for it to strike midnight on the morning of July 31st.

A couple minutes after midnight, there was a tap on his window, which he opened to allow seven owls in, which surprised him. Two of the owls left quickly, after dropping their letters on Harry's desk. He decided to get to those after the others.

Hedwig brought a letter and gift from Hermione. The letter was pretty vague; all it said was that she didn't go to Bulgaria, and that she was with the Weasley's. It also, wished him a happy birthday, and told him that she thought her gift would be useful. He opened it to reveal a book on Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry chuckled lightly, for he had already learned everything that was in the book during his nighttime training.

Next he opened the letter from Pig, which was his gift from Ron. The letter was just as vague as Hermione's, and said he hoped Harry liked his gift. When he saw what it was, he couldn't help but chuckle. Ron had sent him a Chudley Cannons poster. Harry quickly hung it up, and turned back to the owls.

He decided to open to open the packages from Errol next, curious as to why there would be two. The first was, of course, from Mrs. Weasley, her standard meat pies and fudge, and also saying that Dumbledore said someone will be by on August 1st to pick him up. The second, to his surprise, was from Ginny.

"_Dear Harry_

_Happy Birthday! I know we normally don't talk, but I figured now was as good a time as any. I saw this, and couldn't help but think that it was perfect for you._

_How are those horrid muggles treating you? Not too horribly I hope. You're probably also wondering why Ron and Hermione's letters have been so vague. It's because Dumbledore told us not to say too much in our letters because Death Eaters or the Ministry might intercept them, and exploit what they read. I decided that I don't give a rats' arse what Dumbledore says about that._

_The Ministry is trying to paint you and Dumbledore as crazy, attention seeking gits by saying that Tom is back, and refuse to acknowledge it. They've recently given you the name of "The Boy Who Lies". I know that you are, of course, telling the truth. Just be careful Harry, Tom hasn't done anything yet, and Snape says that he's planning something big, but he's not entirely sure what it is._

_Mom says that you're coming tomorrow! Is that exciting, or what?!_

_Anyways, Happy Birthday Harry!_

_Love,_

_Ginny_

Harry couldn't help but smile at Ginny's letter. He had a feeling that Dumbledore was behind him not being kept up to date on matters in the war. He felt a rush of gratitude towards the youngest Weasley for deciding that he needed to know, regardless of the rules placed on her.

He opened the last to gifts, which were from Remus and Sirius respectively.

Remus had given him a scrapbook on things that the Marauders did during the stint at Hogwarts, which Harry took to right away. Sirius gave him a book on Animagi, stating that he thought, "It's time for you to follow in the steps of the Marauders". Harry chuckled, and quickly scribbled a note down to respond stating he had already begun down that path, wanting to see what Sirius' reaction would be.

He opened his Hogwarts letter, which said the usual thing, telling him what he would need for his upcoming school year. The second letter that was dropped off was sealed with a seal he had never seen before, making him confused.

He opened it cautiously, and found that it was from Gringotts Bank, which confused him even more.

_Dear Mister Harry James Potter,_

_It being your fifteenth birthday, we would like to have you come down to the bank to discuss your inheritance, which has been made completely available to you now, as your parents both passed earlier in your life. We have made an appointment with you for 11h00 this morning. We apologize for the late notice, but we would like to do this as soon as possible, as we have a number of things to discuss._

_We look forward to our meeting with you,_

_Ragnok,_

_Head Goblin at Gringotts Wizard Bank_

Harry was flabbergasted.


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry it's taken forever to update, and I know it's not much right now, but it's been hard for me to get any writing done lately.

Thank you for all your great reviews everyone!

***Disclaimer***

I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS! That privilege is JKRs.

Please R&R!

**Chapter 3: Gringotts Bank**

Harry woke the next morning, and told the Dursley's that he was going out for the day. They wanted to argue, but seeing as how he had finished the roofing the day before, they couldn't really say anything. Harry ate a quick breakfast, and headed out to the street. He called the Knight Bus, and boards, asking Ernie to go to The Leaky Cauldron. Once there, he went into the back courtyard, and tapped the brick that would allow him into Diagon Alley with his wand. He was a little early, so he decided to have an ice cream at Florean Fortescue's.

At 10h50 he made his way to the bank so as to be on time. Upon entering, he was immediately ushered into a conference room, where Ragnok was waiting for him.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, have a seat, so we can proceed." Ragnok began, once Harry took his seat, he continued. "Now, you must be wondering why we've asked you to be here?"

"Well, you mentioned something about my inheritance in my letter?" Harry inquired.

"Yes, now, I'm going to show you all of the paper work first, which has all your holdings, and stocks, then we'll go over your parents' Final Will and Testament, and finally I'll be bringing you down to the Potter Family vault."

"Sounds good, sir, thank you." Harry replied.

As Harry and Ragnok looked at his holdings in the wizarding world, he was surprised to find that he had holdings in a large number of businesses, including Gringotts itself. As for the his stocks in the muggle world, they were few in number, but he recognized a couple, such as Grunnings, where his uncle worked, and even a couple motor vehicle companies, such as BMW and Audi.

"It has been brought to our attention that in your parents' Will, you were to be legally emancipated upon your fifteenth birthday." Ragnok continued, "All we need to do is get you to sign this paper here, and then we'll send a copy over to the Ministry."

"Okay," Harry said, slightly confused, "what exactly does this emancipation do for me?"

"Well, it basically makes it so you are now legally an adult, so you can use magic outside of school, and so forth." the goblin explained.

With that being said, Harry began to sign his life away.

"Now, let us go get the Clankers." Ragnok exclaimed.

"Clankers, sir?" Harry asked.

"Yes, we need them to get passed the Dragon!"

"Dragon?..."

"But of course! It helps keep the oldest family vaults safe from the small chance of someone trying to break in!" Ragnok explained.

As they descended into the depths of the bank, Harry watched in awe, as the track split, one path leading past a waterfall, the other going through the waterfall. Harry inquired what was the purpose for that was, and Ragnok explained, "It's called the 'Thief's Downfall'. It washes away any enchantments that have been placed on any of the occupants in the cart."

"Oh, that makes sense." Harry reasoned.

Once they got to the bottom of the tracks, they proceeded on foot down a narrow tunnel which led to a large room that seemed to not have a roof, as it went all the way up to the main floor of the bank. The dragon was gigantic with pale, flaky scales from its long incarceration underground, and it's eyes were a milky pink, but Harry could still tell what kind of dragon this was.

"How on earth did you manage to get a Hungarian Horntail down here?" Harry asked, perplexed.

"The same way we got all the other dragons down here," Ragnok answered cheekily, "Magic."

"You mean to say that there is more than one dragon down here? Harry asked in awe.

"Well yes. Each dragon only protects three or four vaults each, with the exception of this one. It only protects your vault."

"I see…"

After they used the Clankers to get passed the beast, they entered another small passage, which ended at the door to his vault.

"Just place your hand on the door, Mister Potter, it will open to you, and you alone." Ragnok stated. Harry did just that. The action was followed by many clicks, and deep bangs before the door proceeded to open.

Thanks for reading, I'll try to post soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Seems to be flowing a lot more out of my mind today, here's the next chapter.

***DISCLAIMER*** I do not own Harry Potter, that is the privilege of JKR.

Enjoy and R&R!

**Chapter 4: Inside the Vault**

Harry was in awe. The vault was filled not just gold, but everything from furniture and paintings to armor and weapons. What had his attention though was a pair of paintings that were fairly close to the door. One looked much like he did, only he had hazel eyes, and the other was a beautiful woman with fiery red hair, and beautiful emerald green eyes. The same eyes that he had inherited from his mother.

"Mum? Dad?" Harry asked with tears in his eyes.

"Hello son," James responded with a huge smile on his face.

"Your so big now!" Lily exclaimed with tears in her eyes.

"Looks like Padfoot has been taking good care of you." James continued, still grinning like a mad man.

"Actually…" Harry began, "I didn't even meet Sirius until two years ago…" Harry stated.

"WHAT?" both James and Lily shouted in very loud voices.

"Yeah, apparently after Voldemort killed you guys, Sirius came to the house to get me, but Dumbledore had given Hagrid instructions to bring me to him at Privet Drive. When Hagrid said it was because Dumbledore, Sirius gave him his bike, and left to go find Wormtail. When he found him, Wormtail started shouting about how he betrayed you guys, with his wand behind his back. When Sirius pulled out his wand, Wormtail blew up the street, cut off one of his fingers, and turned into his rat form, leaving Sirius to be caught and charged with killing him, and 13 muggles. Sirius was carted off to Azkaban without a trial. He managed to escape using Padfoot after seeing Wormtail in the paper disguised as my friend's pet rat Scabbers. Everyone thought he had escaped to kill me because he was supposedly a huge Voldemort." Harry explained.

"WHAT? WHY DIDN'T DUMBLEDORE SAY SOMETHING? HE KNEW PETTEGREW WAS OUR SECRET KEEPER!" James shouted, outraged.

"I don't really know," Harry continued, "I haven't really questioned anything that he does until recently."

"If you didn't live with Sirius, then who did you live with honey?" Lily asked quietly, afraid that she might already know the answer.

"I had to stay with Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon…" Harry all but whispered.

"And how was that?" She asked curious, but also afraid.

"I was basically raised as a house elf for nine years until I got my Hogwarts letter. I didn't even know there was such thing as magic until Hagrid came and delivered the letter…" Harry explained.

"If I could give her a piece of my mind…" Lily growled, trailing off.

"If that's the case, then how on earth are you in such good shape?" James inquired.

"Well, that's a kind of weird story. I got home from school this passed summer, and I've been doing some training, sort of. It's really hard to explain…" Harry said.

For the next hour or so, they had Harry fill them in on everything that's happened in his life, and they paid rapt attention, clinging to every detail.

"If I didn't know any better, it would seem like Dumbledore has been 'training you' and using you as a puppet over the last few years…" Lily pondered aloud.

"I think so too." Harry stated simply.

"Harry, you need to listen. The reason Voldemort came after you. It's because of a prophecy that was made a couple months before you were born." James began, "it goes something like this, if I remember correctly. '_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…'"_

There were several minutes of silence as Harry processed the words that sealed his fate.

"So, you're telling me that it's either kill or be killed?" Harry questioned.

"It would appear so." James began, "Listen, Harry. Just before we died, I went to an armory shop that does some custom work to get some for your mother and I. It's actually the same shop that made all of the other suits of armor you see in here. We have a large percentage of the shares in the Potter family. It's located in Knockturn Alley; it's called 'The Grimm's Armory'. I think it would be best if you were to go there and get a few sets made for yourself. And go to the trunk shop and get yourself one with a few compartments as well." James said. "And please, please take come back and take us out of this god-forsaken vault once you're done there! It's so bloody boring in here, doing nothing all day!" he finished.

"Okay dad, I'll do that." Harry chuckled, and left the vault behind so he could go get that done.


	5. Chapter 5

*******Disclaimer*** I do not own Harry Potter, that is JKR's privilege.

Thanks to all the people that reviewed!

hptrump: Thank you for the advice, I will keep that in mind while writing.

cburton1995: I sadly don't always have much time to keep a frequent update guarantee. Although, you will have help from my little sister, as she pesters me to no end if I don't update every now and then.

**Chapter 5: The Armory and a New Wand?**

When Harry got back up to the main lobby, he went to the counter and asked Ragnok if there was anything that was like a wallet that was directly tied into the vault so he didn't have to stop by to pick up the money needed so often.

"But of course. It's just a charmed coin purse." Ragnok explained, "It costs about fifteen galleons, but is dead useful. All you have to do is open it up, put your hand in, and request the required money. Works for getting all kinds of Muggle money too." He exclaimed proudly.

Harry purchased one, and was on his way. The first place he stopped at was the trunk store, where he requested a seven-compartment trunk.

"But of course Mr. Potter! Right away!" The store clerk exclaimed once he realized it was Harry he was helping. He returned with a number of different colour trunks. "Okay Mr. Potter, we have a number of different kinds of multiple compartment trunks. The first, and cheapest one is just a trunk that opens to seven normal sized areas. The most expensive one has two which are just compartments, and five of which are actually rooms of different sizes. The smallest being a small kitchenette, the largest being a training room that can fit a Quidditch pitch in it." He explained.

"What colours does that one come in?" Harry inquired.

"Well, the only one we have in stock right now is one that's this deep maroon colour, with gold engravings, and black fastenings. But it would be just a quick spell or two to change the colour of the trunk and fastenings; afraid we can't do anything about the engravings."

"That's perfect!" Harry responded, "Could I please get that with the initials 'HJP' on the top?"

"Of course, anything else you need?" the clerk asked while doing the quick spell to put Harry's initials on the top.

"No, thank you. How much do I owe you?"

"The total comes to 175 Galleons." Harry quickly withdrew the set amount to pay, then inquired if there was a spell he could use to make it smaller.

"Of course, it's '_horreat_'. Have a good day Mister Potter!" the sales clerk proclaimed.

After Harry shrunk the trunk down to pocket size, he made his way to a deserted part of the alley, and with a soft _pop _turned into the Grimm. He made his way through the alley rather quickly, but not without a lady seeing him, and running away in tears screaming about seeing the Grimm and that she was going to die. He chuckled a little as he made his way to Knockturn Alley, and quickly found the shop his father had explained to him. He slipped inside, saw that no one was in the store, and changed back to his human self just as the storeowner came to the counter.

"Ah, Mister Potter, a pleasure to finally meet you. My name is Justin Davies. I must say, it's not a complete surprise to see you here, especially after all my daughter Tracey has said you've been through over the years."

"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Davies. I wasn't aware that my exploits at Hogwarts were ever that popular to receive such merit." Harry began.

"Oh, on the contrary. What can I do you for? I do everything from light armor to custom wands and weapons."

"Custom wands?" Harry asked, perplexed, but interested

"Oh yes, it allows you to use your maximum potential with a wand."

"Perhaps we can get to that in a minute." Harry continued, "I'm looking for some armor that I would be able to wear under my school robes, hell, even under my muggle clothes if at all possible, and some heavy armor that I can wear when I know for a fact that what I'm doing is extremely dangerous."

"I think I have the perfect stuff for you Mister Potter. It's Hungarian Horntail hide armor. Very strong, can withstand everything short of the Unforgivables, and is very light weight, can be worn almost anything! Comes in a few different colours too."

"That sounds perfect!" Harry responded, "What colours do you have?"

"Well, there's the standard greyish colour, but I also have a slightly blue-ish one, and even a black set." Justin explained.

"I'll take the black, if you don't mind." Harry requested.

"But of course. Just let me get your measurements" Mr. Davies said, while waving his wand to make the measuring tape begin to make them. "Would you like any swords or anything?"

"Yes, actually. I recently took some training for sword fighting, and found that I favor the Katonah, is there any possible way to get a couple of goblin made ones? And possibly a small dagger to strap to my leg as well?" Harry inquired.

"Of course, anything you need Mister Potter." Justin said as he continued to work on getting the dragon hide into the needed shapes and measurements.

As Mr. Davies continued to work, Harry decided to take a look around the shop. There were a number of different things in it. There were premade, not so custom sets of armor on display; there were numerous different kinds of weapons displayed as well. There was everything from swords to maces and spiked clubs. Harry could see what looked like the end of a workbench in the back room, which he assumed would be for making wands.

"Sir, if you don't mind me asking, how exactly do you go about making custom wands?" Harry asked, his interest on the topic peaked.

"Well, there are a number of different ways. The way I prefer to craft them is by taking you to the back, and if you were an animagus, mix some of your fur, or scales or what ever you turn into with the magical core you are most compatible with." Mr. Davies explained. "They also help with practicing with a wand underage, as I don't register the wand with the ministry."

"And, for example, if I were to have a magical animagus form, would you use just that?" Harry inquired.

"Well, that would depend on what that form was."

"And if I were to have more then one form?"

"Is there something you'd like to tell me Mister Potter?" Mr. Davies asked, his interest slightly peaked.

"Well, once you're done, why don't we go get started on that wand?" Harry responded cryptically.

After a few minutes, Harry's new sets of armor were completed. He quickly put them in his trunk, "Mister Davies, would you mind if I just kept this trunk out behind the counter?" Harry requested.

"But of course. Now, did you want to take a look at swords first, or get started on your wand?"

"We could look at the swords, to get that away, and so I could put my trunk away after." Harry reasoned.

They looked around the store for a bit, and Harry was drawn to a pair of Katonahs that had what looked like phoenixes carved into the hilts.

"I think I'd like those there…" Harry said with slightly glazed over eyes.

"Ah yes, the Phoenix Blades. I thought you might like those. There is also a matching dagger if you'd like that as well?"

"Of course, it is beautiful craftsmanship…" Harry stated, still absorbed in looking over the blades.

"Well, that's the goblins for you." Justin chuckled in response.

"How much will all this cost, along with a custom wand?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Hmm. Let me think. Knowing that the Potter family has most of the shares in the business, you'd end up with a large percentage of it back in your vault any ways, so I'm going to say that, for you, it will all come to around seven hundred and fifty galleons." Mr. Davies calculated. Harry brought out the galleons, and then they proceeded to the back room.

"Now, Mister Potter. Am I correct in assuming that you have at least one animagus form?" he asked, getting straight to business.

"Seven to be exact, most of which are magical beings." Harry stated simply.

"Well then, get to transforming. Don't worry about being 'too big' for the room, as I've charmed it to grow to the required size to accommodate customers forms." Justin explained. Harry started transforming into each of the forms. Justin collected a small patch of fur from the stag and Grimm's backs.

Once Harry turned into the wolf, he backed away for a second, unsure of what part he would use from an animal he had only ever read about. After a minute or two, Harry started salivating, as if to answer Justin's unasked question. He quickly filled a vial with the saliva, collected a feather from the griffin's wing, a tail feather from the Pegasus, a tail feather from the Phoenix, and a scale from Horntail's head.

"Those are quite the forms you have there Potter, and I promise, you're secret is safe with me. Now. We need to find out what wood, or, more then likely, for you anyways, woods I will be encasing these in." With that, Justin led Harry over to one of the benches, and had him stick his hand over the woods. "Now, let me know when there is a pull at your magic towards any of the woods. There are quite a few, but please take your time." Justin explained.

As Harry walked slowly down the side of the bench, he was pulled towards the Holly. "No surprise there." He muttered to himself. The other two that pulled at him surprised him though.

"Yew and Elder. Can't say I'm too surprised by the Yew, as that's the same as is in Voldemort's wand. However, I am very surprised by the Elder. There is only one wand in existence that has Elder in it. Tell me, Harry, what do you know about the Deathly Hallows?" Justin questioned.

Having been explained to by Merlin what they were during one of his training sessions, Harry told the story, and then made the connection.

"Do you think that there will finally be a wand that can match the strength of the Elder Wand?" Harry asked, awed.

"I believe so. But if you would, Mister Potter, I need to get to work on this wand, and it will take about two hours to finish." Mr. Davies explained.

Harry nodded acceptingly, and left the store in his Phoenix form, and flashed back to his family vault. He spoke with his parents for about an hour and a half before putting them both into his trunk. Afterwards, a thought struck him, so he decided to go up to the lobby to ask Ragnok a question. "I'm sorry to bother you, sir, but I was wondering if I could make one more request from you today?" Harry asked in a hushed voice.

"But of course Mister Potter. But let us go to my office to speak, much more privacy." Once they were there, Ragnok continued, "What is it I can do for you Mister Potter?"

"Well, I was wondering if it was at all possible to make an anonymous deposit that can't be traced back to me into someone else's vault?" Harry asked.

"Why, yes, yes there is Mister Potter. All I need is the amount, and the vault number, or the family name." Ragnok answered.

"Good. Would you please deposit the amount of seven million galleons into the Weasley Family vault?" Harry requested.

"That can easily be arranged Mister Potter." Ragnok responded without asking.

"Thank you sir. And if it could be arranged for as soon as possible, that would be greatly appreciated." Harry replied.

"Is there anything else I can help you with Mister Potter?" Ragnok asked.

"No, thank you for your time sir, have a good day." With that, Harry left the office. As Harry was walking down the lobby towards the main exit, he failed to notice a redheaded man that went by the name of Bill Weasley walk out from one of the offices, and look shocked to see his retreating back before quickly excusing himself from work momentarily.

Harry decided to go back to the armory to get his wand, which should have been completed by now. He quickly side stepped into one of the deserted side streets, and turned back into the Grimm. He made is way back to the store in much the same fashion as the first time, but still not noticing the shocked look of Bill Weasley behind him when he saw Harry turn down a dead end alley, see the Grimm walk out of the same alley, only to find said alley completely deserted when he came to examine it.

"Looks like I'll need to be having a little conversation with Harry once he gets to headquarters tomorrow…" Bill said.

Back in the armory, Harry had just arrived to see Justin just coming out of the back from making his wand.

"Ah, Mister Potter. Your timing is impeccable. I just finished your order." Justin started, "If you will just follow me into the back, we can test it out for you." He briskly walked over to his workbench and picked up the wand. "It's eleven and three quarter inches, let's see if it works."

He gave Harry the wand, and immediately Harry noticed the warmth it gave him. It was unlike anything he had felt before. While his first wand still felt warm and powerful, it was nothing compared to how this custom one reacted to him. Harry gave it a testing wave, and the room was filled with golden fireworks.

"Definitely my most difficult wand to make, but also my most rewarding result." Justin Davies smiled. "Oh, I almost forgot. I made you two wand holsters, one for each arm. I also made a vest that has sheaths for your Katonahs. All made out of the same black Hungarian Horntail hide that your armor is made of." Handing all three things to Harry.

"Oh, how much do I owe you for this?" Harry answered, taking out his coin purse.

"Not to worry my dear boy, not to worry." Justin answered, waiving away the gold Harry was reaching for. Harry nodded sadly, and put the vest/sheath into his trunk, and shrink it back down to put into his pocket. He proceeded to put his holsters on, and placed his old holly wand in his left one, and his custom one in the right. He noticed how the both disappeared as soon as they had the wands in them.

"What just happened?! Where are my wands?!" Harry asked, alarmed.

"Not to worry Mister Potter, you just need to flick the appropriate wrists, and the wand will appear in your hand. Harry tested them out to find that they worked exactly as Mr. Davies explained. He decided to swap them for the time being, as he would no doubt get many questions from people as to why he had a new wand.

"Daddy?" asked a feminine voice from the front of the store.

"Just finishing with a customer in the back Tracey darling!" Justin yelled out, then continued to Harry in a quieter voice, "I think you should leave the back in your Grimm form, I like to keep my client list confidential, even from family. It can be dangerous you know."

"Of course." Harry responded, while quickly changing into his aforementioned form and walking to the main part of the store with Mr. Davies.

"Oh, what a cute doggy!" Tracey said when she saw Harry and came over to pet him.

Justin burst into laughter at this, and then stopped abruptly to talk to his daughter. "Trace, you remember what I told you about my custom wands right?"

"Yeah, that you only made them for people who were animagi… Oh…" she said, stopping mid stroke on Harry's back. Justin chuckled lightly as his daughter started apologizing, and was joined what could only be described as the dog trying to chuckle.

"I hope to see you soon, Thor!" Justin laughed, as he thought of something cheeky to call Harry, while not giving away who he was to Tracey, only to get what sounded like an indignant "Humph" from the retreating dog.

"Thor? Why would you call him that daddy?" Tracey asked, trying to get the wheels turning on finding out who it could be.

"Lets just say that he has an aptitude for lightning." Justin said, suddenly tired from his day of work. Little did he know that the little comment had started the wheels whirling in Tracey's mind.

Please R&R!


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to those who posted their reviews!

Teufel1987 & strangeways: Thank you both for your advice and knowledge, I greatly appreciate it, and will begin to incorporate these immediately.

Teufel1987: In regards to what you said about Tracey, having a younger sister the same age, I know for a fact that seeing any kind of dog turns them all into little girls, and in regards to the thing about how she should be afraid of the Grim, I will be explaining that in further detail later in the story.

floyeddickey: No, this will not be a multi-ship between Harry, Ginny, and Tracey. You'll just have to wait and see what I have planned :P

***Disclaimer*** I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters, that privilege goes to JK Rowling.

**Chapter 6: The Guard and Number 12 Grimmauld Place**

It was the next day, and Harry couldn't be more excited. The previous evening had consisted of permanently transfiguring all of Dudley's old hand-me-downs into clothes and robes that actually fit until he could manage to get to Madam Malkins to get robes, and a muggle shop to get some clothes. That evening, Harry and Merlin were going over everything that Harry had learned over the summer, and at the end Merlin had something to tell Harry.

"Harry, I regret to inform you, but we will need to put our little training sessions on hold until next summer. I have a few things I need to get doing. But before we say fair well for now, I would like to tell you how proud of all you've learned this summer. I don't believe I've ever had a better student under my tutelage. Your abilities are astounding, and your mastery of magic is almost complete. Although, please be careful with who you show your abilities to, especially your wandless magic. Not many people can even do wandless magic, and those that can cannot do nearly as much as you do…"

Harry, having been half expecting something like this to happen, he just accepted it with a sad smile. "I promise to be careful." He said. The two bid each other fair well, and with that Harry awoke for the day.

At the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, Mrs. Weasley was trying to do as Dumbledore had asked her to, which was make sure Hermione and Ron just made Harry feel comfortable and welcome, and find out how he was coping with the events of the third task.

"I need you guys to make sure Harry is alright after all that's happened over the last little while. Particularly with what happened during the third task." She instructed. They both nodded quietly, and waited for Ron's mum to leave.

"What do you think is going on?" Ron asked Hermione as soon as he heard his mother's footsteps fade.

"Well, it's obvious, don't you think?" Hermione stated, "Dumbledore thinks that there might be something up with Harry, and he's unsure about what it might be. I mean, didn't you here Tonks at dinner the other day? She said that it looked like the muggles were actually treating Harry better, other then making him work outside all summer long. She said that we'd all be in for the shock of our lives once he gets here…"

Harry had just finished putting all of his belongings into his new trunk when Vernon barged into his room.

(A/N: The following little bit in bold italics is a few exerts from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. More specifically from Chapter 3: The Advance Guard)

**_Harry looked slowly around at him. Uncle Vernon was wearing his best suit and an expression of enormous smugness._**

**_"We're going out," he said._**

**_"Sorry?"_**

**_"We – that is to say, your aunt, Dudley and I – are going out."…_**

"Okay. I promise to keep to my room." Harry stated simply.

**_"I am going to lock your door"_**

**_"You do that."_**

**_Uncle Vernon glared at Harry, clearly suspicious of this lack of argument, then stomped out of the room and closed the door behind him. Harry heard the key turn in the lock and Uncle Vernon's footsteps walking heavily down the stairs A few minutes later he heard the slamming of car doors, the rumble of an engine, and the unmistakable sound of the car sweeping out of the drive._**

As soon as Harry was sure that they were gone, he lazily flicked his wrist to unlock the door to his room. He decided that he would go down and wait for who ever was picking him up in the sitting room. Before he left the room, he decided to let Hedwig fly to where ever he'd be going.

"Go to Ginny, Hedwig. I'll be there later tonight." Harry said. Hedwig gave him an affectionate nip on the finger to show she understood, and flew out the open window. Harry watched her go until she was just a speck in the sky. Closing the window, he shrunk his trunk and summoned it wordlessly, putting it into his pocket quickly while walking out the bedroom door. He closed, and locked it behind him, heading down the stairs. As soon as he got there, he could here shuffling at the front door, which slowly began to unlock. He quickly hid behind the corner into the sitting room, and drew his wand.

"Search the house for him, he should be expecting us." Came the gruff voice of Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. As soon as he finished speaking, Harry stepped out from around the corner, wand still drawn.

"Prove to me who you are. Where were you found Moody?" Harry said in a deep, threatening voice.

"Now that's what I call CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody stated loudly, "and to answer your question, in the bottom compartment in a multi-compartment trunk in my office at Hogwarts."

Turning his wand on the only other person he could immediately recognize, "What did my father call your lycanthropy?" Harry asked Remus Lupin.

"Well, he called it my 'furry little problem'. Now, just to make sure it's you, what form does your Patronus take?" Lupin questioned.

"A stag, like my father's animagus." Harry answered shortly. "And how do I know that I can trust all of these other people?"

"You're just going to have to take my word for it Harry." Lupin stated, "Let me introduce you to the rest of the Guard, this is Nymphadora Tonks," pointing at a young looking witch with a pale, heart-shaped face and short, spiky hair that was a vivid shade of violet, which suddenly turned into an alarming shade of red, while she responded, "Don't call me Nymphadora, Remus."

Responding, and also keeping the introductions going "Nymphadora prefers to be called by her surname only. This is Kingsley Shacklebolt," indicating a taller dark skinned bald man, "Elphias Doge," a wheezy looking wizard nodded, "Dedalus Diggle," pointing to a man Harry vaguely remembered from his first trip to Diagon Alley wearing a violet top hat.

"Emmeline Vance," while a witch wearing a green shawl inclined her head.

"Sturgis Podmore," pointing to a square jawed wizard with straw-coloured hair.

"And Hestia Jones," concluded Lupin, while a black haired witch waved at him.

"Tonks, would you happen to be a Metamorphmagus?" Harry inquired to the now bubblegum pink haired witch.

"I'm surprised you know what that is, Harry." Remus responded.

"Well, I've been doing a lot of studying over the summer." Harry responded.

"Looks like you've been working out too," came the cheeky reply from the werewolf.

"Well, living with these muggles can do that to you," Harry joked. "Now that I think about it, have I seen you around during the summer here, Tonks?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah, you have. It's one of my assignments from the Order." Tonks answered, to, which Moody growled, "Not here Tonks."

Changing the subject, Remus asked "Where's all your stuff Harry? I would have thought you would have it all down here already?"

"It's right here, in my pocket." Harry said, while pulling the small trunk from his pocket.

Moody scowled, suddenly suspicious. "How did you do that, Potter? You're not supposed to use magic outside of school."

"Well, I happen to be emancipated. I can do as I please now." Harry said with a sly grin.

"Emancipated? Why didn't Dumbledore tell us?" Remus wondered.

"Well, while I'm sure Dumbledore's intentions are good, he does tend to manipulate people to his advantage," Harry responded in a dark tone.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" Hestia said, speaking for the first time since entering the house.

"I could go on for days on how he's manipulated me." Harry responded shortly.

"Well, Potter, you'd best get your broom out. That's how we will be traveling tonight. Only means of transportation that can't be tracked." Moody said gruffly, not taking kindly to the insult about Dumbledore.

Harry got his broom out of his trunk, and they all headed out into the Dursley's back yard. Moments later, there was a shower of green sparks, "Quickly mount and take off!" Moody barked to them all.

As they took off, Harry found that he had Remus, Hestia, Tonks, and Kingsley all very close to him. "Care to explain your stance on Dumbledore?" Hestia asked, and it was clear to Harry that the other three were all just as interested as she.

"Well, he manipulates everyone that he can. I mean if you were to look at my first two years at Hogwarts, you'd see that that is true. Firstly, during my first year, the protections around Philosopher's Stone were practically designed around Ron, Hermione, and myself. There was Fluffy, Hagrid's three-headed dog, Devil's Snare, the room of flying keys, a mountain troll, a giant chess game, a potion's riddle, and the Mirror of Erised." Harry said.

"Okay, I don't quite understand how that could be tailored to you and your friends." Came Kingsley's response.

"Well, Hagrid has always had a problem with spilling curtain things if prodded properly, hence why we would be able to get passed. Then there's the fact that we were learning about Devil's Snare in first year. I mean, really?" Harry responded, "Not to mention, I'm the youngest Seeker in a century, so catching a flying key wasn't going to be a problem."

" That doesn't answer why there would be a mountain troll as a part of something tailored to you." Tonks said.

"Well, earlier that year, on Halloween, Ron and I had already knocked out a troll to save Hermione. The chess set was designed for Ron. He hasn't lost a single game in his life. The potion's puzzle was for Hermione, being the cleverest witch of our year. And the Mirror of Erised was only by chance I was able to get it. You see, I was with Hagrid when he took the Stone from Gringotts. He had said that nowhere was safer, except perhaps Hogwarts. Then, by chance, Hermione, Ron and I stumbled upon Fluffy while trying to hide from Filch. It was only a matter of time before we realized that whatever Fluffy was guarding was what was taken from Gringotts." came Harry's response.

"Okay, I can see where you're coming from for that," stated Hestia, "but what about your second year, you said something about that earlier."

"I'm sure you've all heard that the Chamber of Secrets was opened a few years back?" Harry asked. Remus, Tonks, and Kingsley all nodded solemnly, while Hestia looked confused.

"It was? But I thought that the Heir of Slytherin could only open it? And isn't that Voldemort?" came her confused reply.

"While that is true, he still managed to open it by possessing someone, who's name will be left out for confidentiality." Harry responded, "Now tell me what you know about the beast that lies in the Chamber?"

"Only that it can only be controlled by the Heir of Slytherin." was Hestia's response.

"And you know for a fact that Salazar was a Parselmouth, correct?" Harry asked, while looking at Hestia, to which, she nodded. "Well, it just so happens that when Voldemort gave me this scar, he also gave me some of his abilities, including Parseltounge. So, whenever there were these attacks in which a Muggleborn student would end up petrified, I would here this voice saying that it wanted to kill. I was confused as to why only I could here this voice that was saying it wanted to kill people. Finally, near the end of the year, the person that Voldemort was possessing was brought down to the chamber to await their death, so that Voldemort could return. I went and rescued this person, and killed the basilisk that had been terrorizing the school, of course, I had the help of Fawkes at the time. He brought me the Sorting hat, which ended up giving me the Sword of Gryffindor, which I used to fight it with, after Fawkes had clawed out it's deadly eyes.

"Now, if you were as smart as Dumbledore, would you not have guessed automatically that the beast that was in the chamber was at least a snake of some sorts? And then you factor in the fact that, apparently the snake had lived for thousands of years. I can only think of one kind of snake that has the ability to live that long, don't you?" Harry asked.

"I can see your logic there, but that still doesn't explain how you think Dumbledore manipulated you." Cut in Kingsley.

"Well, firstly, I believe that Dumbledore was counting on my reckless Gryffindor side to take over and find the Chamber to begin with. Dumbledore has been in Hogwarts for a very long time, has he not?" Harry inquired.

"But of course, he said he was a teacher there when Voldemort was a student." Tonks said.

"Exactly. Now, the first time the Chamber was opened, a Muggleborn girl died in a bathroom. Now tell me. Do you know of Moaning Myrtle?"

"Of course, she's the reason no one goes into that one girls bathroom on the second floor… Oh…" was Hestia's response, it finally clicking.

"Okay, so being as brilliant as Dumbledore is, would you not question the ghost of the only one to die because the Chamber of Secrets was opened?" Harry asked.

"Yeah… I see what you're getting at now." Hestia said, while all the others nodded sadly.

Moody suddenly spoke from the front of the group, "We're going to start our decent, prepare for landing!"

They landed in a little park that was located just off a street called Grimmauld Place. As they walked to the edge of the park, Moody thrust a piece of parchment into Harry's hand, "Read it, and memorize it." He said gruffly. Looking down, Harry could see the address "_Number 12 Grimmauld Place, London, England_" written in a neat scroll that he recognized as Dumbledore's. As soon as Harry looked up from it, it burst into flames. As he looked around for the indicated address, he noticed that it seemed to be missing. But as soon as he thought this, it began to appear in between numbers 11 and 13. They walked up the steps, then Moody tapped a few different points on the door, which were all followed by a series of clicks and jangles of chains un raveling.

Once they were all inside, and the door shut and locked behind them, Remus said, "Welcome, Harry, to the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix." To which Harry laughed heartily. "For the headquarters of such an organization, it seems to be pretty dark and dreary." It was true; it seemed to just have bad feeling about the entire thing. Harry continued, "Well, it looks like I'll get to work right now, so I don't have to think of a dark and dreary place as this organization of light's meeting house." Drawing his wand, he whispered a few things, and the result was immediate, at least in the parts of the house from the door to where he was standing. The house was slowly starting to become a clean, bright place, decorated in mostly Gryffindor colours, but a few Ravenclaw and Huffelpuff here and there.

Smiling, Harry continued down the hall, the results of his work following his every step. "Now, where is this Order of the Phoenix meeting?" he asked, turning towards the others, who were nothing short of shocked at what he had done.

"Umm… It's in the kitchen in the basement, but Dumbledore doesn't want you to be in the meeting…" Remus said, a little scared at what Harry might do in response to what he just said.

The result was immediate. Harry's face darkened, and he started stalking towards what he assumed was the entrance to the kitchen. Just then, Mrs. Weasley came out of the door he was heading to, and paid no head to the dark look that was on Harry's face, "Oh, Harry dear, how nice to see you! Why don't you go upstairs and into yours and Ron's room, we're about to have a meeting, and you kids shouldn't be in the kitchen."

Harry turned to her and smiled briefly, before saying "There's a few things I need to discuss with Professor Dumbledore before you guys start." He stated simply, his face darkening once again.

Thanks for Reading! Please R&R!


	7. Chapter 7

***Disclaimer: I do Not own Harry Potter, no matter how much I wish so. The characters all belong to JK Rowling****

Sorry for the long wait everyone, and thank you for the reviews. Here is the next chapter everyone!

**Chapter 7: Dumbledore Humbled**

Mrs. Weasley tried desperately to stop Harry from proceeding down the stairs, but Harry wouldn't have any of it. It wasn't until Remus spoke up that Mrs. Weasley gave in.

"Molly, I believe that Harry needs to do this," slowly coming down the stairs, with Hestia, Tonks, and Kingsley all behind him giving assertive nods to Lupin's statement. "Besides, look at what he's done to the décor of this dreadful place." Motioning to the house that was behind them." Mrs. Weasley just nodded, slightly awed at what had happened to the once dank, dark house.

Once Harry reached the kitchen the entire room changed to match the rest of the house. Dumbledore looked up, surprised at the sudden change in decorum. Seeing Harry, he looked slightly shocked, but put on his passive smile with his usual twinkling blue eyes, "Ah, Harry! I'm glad you had a safe journey. If you could, please go upstairs and wait for our meeting to be over, I'm sure we can speak then."

"I don't think so, Headmaster. I have a bone to pick with you." Harry said darkly.

Professor McGonagall spoke up, "Now, Mister Potter. That is no way to speak to the Headmaster, apologize and listen to as he says."

"My apologies Professor McGonagall, but I will not leave until I have finished." Harry responded.

"And what exactly is it you wish to speak about so urgently Harry?" Dumbledore asked, the twinkle in his eye having faded a little.

"I want answers. Why are you making my friends keep things from me when you know full well that I would be better off informed of all that is happening. Also. Why is it you've never mentioned the prophecy to me before?' Harry growled.

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes had completely vanished at this point. "Harry. I am doing everything I do for the Greater Good."

"You call leaving the only person in the world that can get rid of Voldemort in the dark part of the greater good?" Harry questioned, his voice rising steadily.

"Yes." Dumbledore said simply, his eyes now a very icy blue.

"Here's what I think, old man." Harry started, his eyes now matching Dumbledore's in coldness "I think that you enjoyed the glory that came with defeating Grindelwald so much so that you just had to start manipulating things in such a way that when the next Dark Lord arose, you would be able to take credit for destroying Him. If not directly, then by making the one that would be able to into your pawn."

At this point, everyone in the kitchen was paying rapt attention to the argument between the Boy-Who-Lived and their Leader of the Light. The raised voices had even been enough to get those who were upstairs in their rooms (namely Fred, George, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny) to all be sitting in the stair well, still with a very good view of the argument going on.

"THAT IS COMPLETELY UNCALLED FOR MISTER POTTER! THERE IS NO REASON TO MAKE SUCH ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ME! " The headmaster yelled, while letting his aura seep out, which was a bright blue flame, of his very being. Nobody had ever seen the headmaster in such a fury in their lives, and were all cowering a bit. But not Harry. No, Harry stood firm.

Everyone in the room was already shocked into silence already, but none of them could have guessed what happened next.

Harry, too, started to let his aura out, which was a molten golden flame and shouted back in response.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST SHOW A LITTLE AURA AND SCARE ME INTO SUBMISSION OLD MAN? I'LL SHOW YOU AURA!" With that, Harry's aura began to get brighter and brighter. Their audience shielded their eyes from the brightness, and some began to whisper amongst themselves. Fred and George, it seemed, were communicating telepathically, as they often do, as were Sirius and Remus. Ginny turned to Ron and Hermione, "Did you know he could do that?" she whispered quietly. In response she got to slack-jawed headshakes in the negative.

"HARRY I DEMAND THAT YOU STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Dumbledore continued, with his eyes still covered from the brightness.

The aura around Harry began to fade slightly, but only so you could see that what should have been Harry's form wasn't. When it finally dimmed enough that you could clearly see the animal, Mrs. Weasley gave a loud shriek, and ran to the furthest corner in the room, while Remus' jaw was opening and shutting like a gold fish. Dumbledore's aura disappeared immediately, and he had a look of pure horror in his eyes.

Harry's voice began to sound as if it was coming from the very air, while the alpha werewolf bared its teeth, and growled.

"THAT'S RIGHT OLD MAN! FEAR ME! YOU HAVE MANIPULATED MY FRIENDS, FAMILY, AND I FOR THE LAST TIME! I DO NOT FEAR YOU! I HAVE VERY LITTLE RESPECT FOR YOU NOW! THE ONLY REASON YOU WOULD DO WHAT YOU JUST DID IS IF YOU HAD BEEN DISCOVERED FOR WHAT YOU TRULY ARE! IF YOU EVEN SO MUCH AS THINK OF TRYING TO GO BACK TO BEING KING OF THE CASTLE, USING ALL OF US AS YOUR LITTLE PAWNS, YOU WILL BE JOINING REMUS FOR THE FULL MOONS! UNDERSTOOD?"

Dumbledore nodded vigorously, to, which Harry responded, voice still coming from the air, "SWEAR TO IT!"

"I swear! I swear I will not be a manipulative old fool ever again! I can see the error of my ways!" Dumbledore cried.

With a soft pop, the wolf transformed back into Harry, whose aura was fading, and with a cheery voice, pearly white smile, and twinkling eyes said, "Good." and walked out of the kitchen, being followed closely by Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Fred and George.

Upstairs in the room that he would be sharing with Ron, Harry brought out his trunk, and enlarged it.

"Harry, what do you think you're doing!?" Hermione wailed, "The ministry is looking for any way to discredit you, and you just preformed underage magic!"

"Ah, that's the beautiful thing. I can preform magic as I wish now." Harry smiled, and at the questioning looks he received from the other five, "According to my parents' Will, they wanted me to be emancipated on my fifteenth birthday if they died before then. I'm going to arrange a way for me to get my apparition license as soon as possible."

"Ah, good to hear my man, good to hear. But I am sorry to say that Forge and I must get back to our work, mustn't we?" said one of the twins, to which the other responded, "Quite right, Gred, quite right." With that, they both apparated off somewhere, probably to their room, with rather loud pops.

"Harry?" Ginny's timid voice came from just at the door. At this, Ron turned to face her.

"What are you doing here Ginny? Harry wants to talk to only Hermione and I right now."

Before she could respond, Harry cut in, "No, I'd rather have her for company, seeing as she was the only one to keep me informed the whole summer."

Ron shut up after that. Hermione spoke up at that, "It was on Dumbledore's orders that we didn't… You have to understand…"

"No, I don't Hermione. He doesn't have any authority over us out side of school. Especially since the Ministry has revoked his position on the Wizengamot. While I can appreciate his help in getting him from the Dursley's, I'll do as I please." Harry stated with a dark look on his face.

"Harry?" Came Ginny's voice again, a little more confidence this time, "When did... When did you… become so… fit?" she questioned, although the last word came out as though she was questioning her choice of words.

Chuckling to himself, Harry responded, "Magic," concluding with a wink, causing the redhead to blush deeply.

"Speaking of magic," Hermione cut in, "When were you planning on telling us that you're an animagus?"

"Well, I can't say exactly, but I will say that I had entertained the idea since third year, but I came by the means this past summer." Harry explained vaguely.

"But Harry," Ron cut in, "You've told us everything, why do you need to start keeping secretes from us now?"

"You shouldn't put all of your bets on one horse." Harry explained simply, causing Ron's eyes to frown in confusion, and Hermione's to light up in almost delight.

"Oh, it's wonderful that you're starting to learn so much Harry!" she squealed in delight, rushing to embrace Harry in a suffocating hug. Harry stiffened slightly, while hugging her back. Hermione pulled back, blushing slightly. "I… I didn't realize just how much you had been working out this summer…" she muttered quietly.

This got a laugh out of Harry, and Ron's face went red in anger, although none of the other three occupants in the room saw.

Back in the kitchen there was a heated argument going on between Molly and Sirius.

"But he's just a child! He shouldn't have to do anything but live his life as such!" Molly argued.

"But he isn't a child any more Molly, he stopped having any opportunity of having a normal childhood the moment Voldemort decided to mark him for death." Sirius stated.

"And anyways," Remus cut in, "He said something about being emancipated…"

At this, Dumbledore looked up, shocked. Molly still shouted, "It doesn't matter if he's been emancipated! He's still just a boy!"

Sirius responded, "I can't think of him as a boy if he has faced three more times since starting school, faced a troll AND a basilisk, fought of hundreds of dementors at once, and even won the Triwizard Tournament, and is still drawing breath."

Molly huffed resignedly, before they continued the meeting. "So," Dumbledore spoke up, "Other than this latest announcement, is there any other news?" When no one spoke up, Dumbledore continued, "Well, if not, why don't we adjourn for now?"

After everyone had left that wasn't staying for dinner, and Molly had called all of the kids down. They all ate until they had their fill, and afterwards Dumbledore approached Harry carefully.

"Might I have a word with you in private, Harry?" he asked. At this, Harry looked at him calculatingly.

"Okay, but if I don't like the way the conversation goes, I'm leaving." He said simply.

Once in the drawing room, and Dumbledore had added a number of privacy spells around the room, causing Harry to raise an eyebrow in question. After he was finished, Dumbledore sighed. "Harry, forgive an old man his follies. As you said, I have gotten to used to things going my way, and I'm not sure that that is going to happen much longer."

"Why should I trust you?" Harry questioned, a dark look in his eyes. "Hogwarts is supposed to be one of the safest places in the world, and yet I've faced dangers during my first four years there that almost all grown wizards die without having to do. All in the name of 'training' me for The Greater Good' as you always put it." He paused for a moment, before finishing, "You know, you sound a lot like Grindelwald. That was his motto, was it not?"

Dumbledore looked dejected at this, and then spoke up, "I am sorry Harry. I'll let you in on something only a select few know. Just after I graduated from Hogwarts, I was thrust into the position of Head of the Dumbledore family. My mother had died from a magical outburst from my younger sister, whose magical core was damaged so much that she was basically a squib, with the occasional outburst of magic. My father had died in Azkaban for killing the boys who did that to her. I was only seventeen at the time, and had just been forced to stay home from a trip around the world with one of my classmates.

"A couple months later, a young man my age moved in next door by the name of Gellert Grindelwald. We hit it off right away, and began making plans of grandeur. We had been making plans of finding the Deathly Hallows so that we could take over the government; revolutionize the wizarding world, for the Greater Good.

"Once Gellert started down a path that was not to my liking, I backed out, there was a fight between him, and my younger brother Aberforth. Gellert was going on about how the family was holding me back from being able to reach my full potential, the next thing I know, and the three of us are dueling against each other. There were Unforgivables flying everywhere. My sister had come out because of the commotion, and was hit by a stray Killing Curse.

"To this day, we don't know who cast the spell, but the guilt has always been overwhelming. Gellert took off after that, fearing jail time for the crime. At her funeral, Aberforth and I got into a fistfight, in which he broke my nose. I was still feeling guilty, so I did not get it fixed." He said, looking solemn.

Harry was a little startled, but did not comment on it, allowing him to continue his story, "It wasn't until years later that the public became aware that I was the only one who was powerful enough to take him down. Word had spread that he may have found the Elder Wand, so I was having doubts that even I could defeat him. I delayed the inevitable as much as possible. In the end, I did end up having to duel him, and won. But it was with a heavy heart…" he trailed off.

Harry looked at him for a moment, before speaking. "I am sorry for your losses, Professor. But that still doesn't excuse you from playing chess master in everyone's lives."

"I understand…" Dumbledore said downcast.

"I'm glad that you do. Now, if you don't mind, I plan on going out and finding a way to clear my godfather's good name." With that, Harry walked with cat-like grace out of the room, walking straight through Dumbledore's protective enchantments.


End file.
